U.S. patent application number 15/383456 was filed with the patent office on 2017-10-12 for composite hydrological monitoring system.
The applicant listed for this patent is National Applied Research Laboratories. Invention is credited to Kuo-Chun CHANG, Yu-Chieh CHEN, Meng-Huang GU, Bo-Han LEE, Tai-Shan LIAO, Yung-Bin LIN, Yung-Kang WANG.
Application Number | 20170292839 15/383456 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59240880 |
Filed Date | 2017-10-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170292839 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LIN; Yung-Bin ; et
al. |
October 12, 2017 |
COMPOSITE HYDROLOGICAL MONITORING SYSTEM
Abstract
Disclosed is a composite hydrological monitoring system, in
which a counterweight component and a test component are
respectively connected to both opposite ends of a strip and a
plurality of sensors are disposed at different vertical positions.
Accordingly, the scour depth can be measured by sensing the
location of the counterweight component, whereas the water level
and/or flow velocity can be determined by signals from the sensors.
When the counterweight component moves downward with sinking of the
riverbed, the strip would be pulled down and thus causes the test
component to present a change in mechanical energy. Accordingly,
the sinking depth can be measured by sensing the change of the
mechanical energy. Additionally, since the water level variation
would cause signal changes of the sensors arranged in a row along a
vertical direction, the change of water level can be determined
accordingly.
Inventors: |
LIN; Yung-Bin; (Taipei City,
TW) ; CHEN; Yu-Chieh; (Taipei City, TW) ;
LIAO; Tai-Shan; (Taipei City, TW) ; CHANG;
Kuo-Chun; (Taipei City, TW) ; LEE; Bo-Han;
(Taipei City, TW) ; WANG; Yung-Kang; (Taipei City,
TW) ; GU; Meng-Huang; (Taipei City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
National Applied Research Laboratories |
Taipei City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
59240880 |
Appl. No.: |
15/383456 |
Filed: |
December 19, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01F 1/05 20130101; G01F
23/0061 20130101; G08B 21/00 20130101; G08B 25/08 20130101; G01F
23/30 20130101; G01F 23/0023 20130101; G01F 1/005 20130101; G01C
13/008 20130101; E02B 3/00 20130101; G01F 23/64 20130101; G01F
23/0007 20130101; G08B 21/182 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G01C 13/00 20060101
G01C013/00; G01F 23/30 20060101 G01F023/30; G01F 1/05 20060101
G01F001/05 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 11, 2016 |
TW |
105111172 |
Claims
1. A composite hydrological monitoring system, comprising: a first
hollow base body including a first accommodating space, wherein a
plurality of first through holes is disposed on a sidewall of the
first hollow base body and interconnects to the first accommodating
space; a second hollow base being body disposed in the first
accommodating space and includes a second accommodating space,
wherein a plurality of second through holes is disposed on a
sidewall of the second hollow base body and interconnects to the
first accommodating space and the second accommodating space; a
counterweight component being housed in the second accommodating
space of the second hollow base body, wherein the counterweight
component is capable of moving in a vertical direction under
gravity; a test component being capable of moving in the vertical
direction along with the counterweight component and presenting a
change in mechanical energy; a strip connecting with the
counterweight component and the test component, the test component
is driven by the strip to present the change in mechanical energy
when the counterweight component moves upwards in the vertical
direction; a first sensor detecting the change in mechanical energy
to generate a first signal; a float being movably sleeved on the
strip; a second sensor including a plurality of sensing elements,
which are disposed at a predetermined interval from one another in
the vertical direction, wherein the float triggers the sensing
element at a corresponding position and drive the second sensor to
generate a second signal; and a signal processing unit receiving
the first signal and the second signal, wherein the signal
processing unit converts the first signal into a scour depth and
converts the second signal into at least one of a water level and a
flow velocity.
2. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in claim
1, wherein a magnetic element having high magnetic permeability is
disposed on a sidewall of the float, wherein the float triggers the
sensing element at the corresponding position through the magnetic
element.
3. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in claim
2, wherein each of said sensing elements is a magnetic switch or an
inductive coil.
4. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in claim
3, wherein said magnetic switches are disposed symmetrically on at
least two opposite outer sidewalls of the second hollow base body
for forming a plurality of sensing parts and each of said sensing
parts includes the magnetic switches that arranged in a row along
the vertical direction.
5. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in claim
3, wherein said magnetic switches are connected in parallel on two
wires, and when the float triggers the magnetic switch at the
corresponding position, the magnetic switch, and the wires together
form a conductive loop.
6. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in claim
5, wherein the signal processing unit processes the second signal
through phase lock loop method.
7. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in claim
3, wherein the inductive coil surrounds the second hollow base
body, the magnetic element of the float will affect the inductive
coil and drive the second sensor to generate a second signal when
the float passes through the inductive coil.
8. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in claim
7, wherein the inductive coil produces inductance change due to the
effect of the magnetic element of the float when the float passes
through the inductive coil.
9. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in claim
1, further comprising: a third sensor being disposed at the
counterweight component for detecting a movement of the
counterweight component and generate a third signal, wherein the
signal processing unit converts the third signal into a reference
value which relates to at least one of the scour depth, the water
level, and the flow velocity.
10. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the change in mechanical energy is a rotation
change of the test component and the first sensor is utilized to
detect the rotation change of the test component.
11. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 10, wherein the test component rotates with respect to a
central axis and the strip surrounds the test component along the
central axis, and when the counterweight moves downwardly, the
strip is elongated by the tensile strength of the counterweight
component and drives the test component to rotate.
12. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 11, wherein when a length of the strip is longer than a
moving amount of the counterweight component, which moves
downwardly, the test component rotates reversely by a retrieving
elastic force so that the strip is rewound to a tension state.
13. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 12, wherein the test component includes a shell body, a
mechanical turntable, a volute spring, and a three-jaw introversion
mechanical coupling assembly, wherein the mechanical turntable is
sleeved to an axis of the shell body, the volute spring surrounds
the axis and is disposed at an inner wall of the mechanical
turntable; the strip surrounds an outer wall of the mechanical
turntable; and the three-jaw introversion mechanical coupling
assembly connects to the mechanical turntable and the first
sensor.
14. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 13, wherein the first sensor is a rotary encoder, which
rotates synchronously with the test component.
15. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit comprises an analysis
module, which meta-analyses the scour depth and the water level and
to raise a warning signal.
16. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 15, wherein the analysis module reads the scour depth and the
water level for making a comprehensive analysis and raises the
warning signal base on the following situation: (1) when the scour
depth is larger than a first alert threshold, the analysis module
will raise the warning signal, on the contrary, when the scour
depth is smaller than the first alert threshold, the analysis
module will not raise the warning signal; (2) when the water level
is larger than a second alert threshold, the analysis module will
raise the warning signal, on the contrary, when the water level is
smaller than the second alert threshold, the analysis module will
not raise the warning signal; and (3) when the scour depth is
smaller than the first alert threshold and the water level is
smaller than the second alert threshold but a total value of the
scour depth and the water level is larger than a third alert
threshold, the analysis module will raise the warning signal, on
the contrary, when the scour depth is smaller than the first alert
threshold and the water level is smaller than the second alert
threshold and the total value of the scour depth and the water
level is also smaller than the third alert threshold, the analysis
module will not raise the warning signal, wherein the first alert
threshold, the second alert threshold, and the third alert
threshold are a set parameter respectively.
17. A composite hydrological monitoring system, comprising: a first
hollow base body including a first accommodating space wherein a
plurality of first through holes is disposed on a sidewall of the
first hollow base body and interconnects to the first accommodating
space; a counterweight component being housed in the first
accommodating space of the first hollow base body, wherein the
counterweight component is capable of moving in a vertical
direction under gravity; a test component being capable of moving
in the vertical direction along with the counterweight component
and presenting a change in mechanical energy; a strip connecting
with the counterweight component and the test component, the test
component is driven by the strip to present the change in
mechanical energy when the counterweight component moves upwards in
the vertical direction; a first sensor detecting the change in
mechanical energy to generate a first signal; a second sensor
including a plurality of sensing elements, which are disposed at a
predetermined interval from one another in the vertical direction,
wherein said sensing elements detect an environmental condition of
the corresponding position to generate a second signal; and a
signal processing unit receiving the first signal and the second
signal, wherein the signal processing unit converts the first
signal into a scour depth and converts the second signal into at
least one of a water level and a flow velocity.
18. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 17, wherein said sensing elements are disposed on the
strip.
19. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 17, wherein said sensing elements are thermometer or
manometer.
20. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 17, further comprising: a third sensor being disposed at the
counterweight component for detecting a movement of the
counterweight component and generate a third signal, wherein the
signal processing unit converts the third signal into a reference
value which relates to at least one of the scour depth, the water
level, and the flow velocity.
21. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 17, wherein the change in mechanical energy is a rotation
change of the test component and the first sensor is utilized to
detect the rotation change of the test component.
22. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 21, wherein the test component rotates with respect to a
central axis and the strip surrounds the test component along the
central axis, and when the counterweight moves downwardly, the
strip is elongated by the tensile strength of the counterweight
component and drives the test component to rotate.
23. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 22, wherein when a length of the strip is longer than a
moving amount of the counterweight component, which moves
downwardly, the test component rotates reversely by a retrieving
elastic force so that the strip is rewound to a tension state.
24. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 23, wherein the test component includes a shell body, a
mechanical turntable, a volute spring, and a three-jaw introversion
mechanical coupling assembly, wherein the mechanical turntable is
sleeved to an axis of the shell body, the volute spring surrounds
the axis and is disposed at an inner wall of the mechanical
turntable; the strip surrounds an outer wall of the mechanical
turntable; and the three-jaw introversion mechanical coupling
assembly connects to the mechanical turntable and the first
sensor.
25. The composite hydrological monitoring system as claimed in
claim 24, wherein the first sensor is a rotary encoder, which
rotates synchronously with the test component.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefits of the Taiwan Patent
Application Serial Number 105111172, filed on Apr. 11, 2016, the
subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a composite hydrological
monitoring system. More specifically, the present invention relates
to a composite hydrological monitoring system that measures the
scour depth and the water level and/or the flow velocity.
2. Description of Related Art
[0003] The conventional method for detecting the scour depth and
the water level is operated by manual inspection. However, the
precision of the manual inspection rely on the experience of the
inspectors, and the inspection operated on water also threatens the
lives of the inspectors.
[0004] In recent years, many techniques for monitoring the scouring
condition and water level have been developed. For example, the
time-domain reflection method may monitor the water level, scour
depth, or other physical parameters with different designs of the
waveguide. The method of combining the designed waveguide similar
to an anchoring cable was suggested for solving the problems of
installation practice and signal attenuation. However, it still has
the disadvantages of complex structure and economical high cost.
Furthermore, a system for monitoring the scour depth of the
riverbed, the flow velocity, and the sediment concentration has
also been developed. The system comprises a plurality of sensing
balls, a relay device, and an analysis device, wherein each of the
sensing balls corresponds to different depths of the mud layer.
When the sensing balls were scoured and floated, the built-in
accelerometer, water pressure gauge, and positioning element may
detect the moving acceleration, depth, and position of the sensing
balls for analyzing the scour depth, water depth, position, and the
flow velocity distribution in depth direction. However, this system
has the problems of the complex circuit structure, difficult
construction, economical high cost, and low survival hour.
[0005] Therefore, it is desirable to develop an improved composite
hydrological monitoring system which has a simple structure, low
cost, easy construction, and high survival hour to immediately
monitor the scour depth caused by the flood, and the flow velocity
and the water level of the flood.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is one object of the present invention to provide a
composite hydrological monitoring system for monitoring scour
depth, water level, flow velocity, or the like. The composite
hydrological monitoring system is advantageous of simple structure,
low cost, easy construction, and long lifetime, which is beneficial
to immediately control the flood safety and ensure the safety of
river and marine constructs.
[0007] To achieve the object, the present invention provides a
composite hydrological monitoring system, which comprises: a first
hollow base body including a first accommodating space, wherein a
plurality of first through holes is disposed on a sidewall of the
first hollow base body and interconnects to the first accommodating
space; a second hollow base body being disposed in the first
accommodating space wherein a plurality of second through holes is
disposed on a sidewall of the second hollow base body and
interconnects the first accommodating space and the second
accommodating space; a counterweight component being housed in the
second accommodating space of the second hollow base body, wherein
the counterweight component is capable of moving in a vertical
direction under gravity; a test component being capable of moving
in the vertical direction along with the counterweight component
and present a change in mechanical energy; a strip connecting with
the counterweight component and the test component, the test
component is driven by the strip to present the change in
mechanical energy when the counterweight component moves upwards in
the vertical direction; a first sensor detecting the change in
mechanical energy to generate a first signal; a float being movably
sleeved on the strip; a second sensor including a plurality of
sensing elements, which are disposed at a predetermined interval
from one another in the vertical direction, wherein the float
triggers the sensing elements at a corresponding position and drive
the second sensor to generate a second signal; and a signal
processing unit receiving the first signal and the second signal,
wherein the signal processing unit converts the first signal into a
scour depth and converts the second signal into at least one of a
water level and a flow velocity.
[0008] In addition, the present invention provides another
composite hydrological monitoring system, which comprises: a first
hollow base body including a first accommodating space and a
plurality of first through holes is disposed on a sidewall of the
first hollow base body and interconnects to the first accommodating
space; a counterweight component being housed in the first
accommodating space, wherein the counterweight component is capable
of moving in a vertical direction under gravity; a test component
being capable of moving in the vertical direction along with the
counterweight component and presenting a change in mechanical
energy; a strip connecting with the counterweight component and the
test component, wherein the test component is driven by the strip
to present the change in mechanical energy when the counterweight
component moves upwards in the vertical direction; a first sensor
detecting the change in mechanical energy to generate a first
signal; a second sensor including a plurality of sensing elements,
which are disposed at a predetermined interval from one another in
the vertical direction, wherein those sensing elements detect an
environmental condition of the corresponding position to generate a
second signal; and a signal processing unit receiving the first
signal and the second signal, wherein the signal processing unit
receiving converts the first signal into scour depth and converts
the second signal into at least one of a water level and a flow
velocity.
[0009] Accordingly, the composite hydrological monitoring system
may be utilized for monitoring the scour depth and the water
level/the flow velocity to ensure the flood control and safety of
the river and marine constructs (such as piers, dikes, oil drilling
platforms, offshore wind power generation facilities). For example,
the first and the second hollow base body may be inserted
straightly into the riverbed, and water or muds may get into the
inner space of the first and the second base body through the first
and second through holes on the sidewalls thereof, therefore, when
the water scours the riverbed, the counterweight component may sink
under gravity due to the sinking of riverbed that caused by the
scouring and undercutting, the strip will be pulled down and thus
cause the test component to present a change in mechanical energy
due to the tensile strength of the strip. Accordingly, the change
in mechanical energy may be detected by the first sensor; the
vertical position of the counterweight component may be determined
by the moving length of the strip. Therefore, the scour depth of
the riverbed may be determined. Simultaneously, the float will
float on the water surface due to buoyancy force, therefore, the
float will move upwardly and vertically along with the change of
water level, and the float will trigger the sensing element of the
second sensor which is disposed at the corresponding position.
Accordingly, the second sensor may detect the vertical position of
the float and learn the water level. Additionally, the vibration of
the float caused by the turbulence might trigger and drive the
sensing element to generate a signal change, so that the flow
velocity of the river may be obtained according to the level of the
irregular signal change. Alternatively, the sensing elements
disposed at different levels may directly detect the hydrological
parameters (such as temperature, pressure, flow velocity, and the
like) of the corresponding positions, and the water level or the
flow velocity may be further obtained.
[0010] In the present invention, the composite hydrological
monitoring system further comprises a third sensor, which is
disposed at the counterweight component for detecting a movement of
the counterweight component and generate a third signal, wherein
the signal processing unit converts the third signal into a
reference value which relates to at least one of the scour depth,
the water level, and the flow velocity.
[0011] In the present invention, the float is not particularly
limited, as long as the float may trigger the sensing element of
the corresponding position. For example, if the sensing element
triggers the sensing element by magnetic principle, a magnetic
element may be disposed on the sidewall of the float. However, the
sensing element of the present invention is not limited to be
triggered by magnetic principle.
[0012] In the present invention, the test component is not
particularly limited as long as the test component may move in the
vertical direction along with the counterweight component and
present a change in mechanical energy. For example, the position of
the counterweight component may be detected due to the rotation
change of the test component, that is, the test component may
rotate with respect to a central axis and the strip surrounds the
test component along the central axis. When the counterweight moves
downwardly, the strip is elongated by the tensile strength of the
counterweight component and drives the test component to rotate. In
addition, to avoid the length of the strip becomes longer than a
moving amount of the counterweight component, which moves
downwardly, the test component may rotate reversely by a retrieving
elastic force. For example, the test component may include a shell
body, a mechanical turntable, a volute spring, and a three-jaw
introversion mechanical coupling assembly, wherein the mechanical
turntable is sleeved to an axis of the shell body, the volute
spring surrounds the axis and is disposed at an inner wall of the
mechanical turntable, the strip surrounds an outer wall of the
mechanical turntable, and the three-jaw introversion mechanical
coupling assembly connects to the mechanical turntable and the
first sensor. The three-jaw introversion mechanical coupling
assembly fastens the first sensor to the mechanical turntable so
that it can be disassembled and assembled easily. Accordingly, the
volute spring may provide the retrieving elastic force to reverse
the rotation of the mechanical turntable when the length of the
strip becomes longer than the moving amount of the counterweight
component, so that the strip will rewind to a tension state and
make sure that the length of the strip equals to the moving amount
of the counterweight component. Therefore, the vertical position of
the counterweight component may be detected precisely.
[0013] In the present invention, the first sensor is not
particularly limited as long as the first sensor may detect the
change in mechanical energy of the test component. For example, the
first sensor may be a rotary encoder when the mechanical energy of
the test component is rotational energy. Also, the rotary encoder
may rotate synchronously with the test component to detect the
rotating condition of the test component. For example, the rotary
encoder utilized in an embodiment of the present invention is an
optical encoder, which comprises a coding turntable, a
light-emitting element, and a light-receiving element. The coding
turntable connects to and rotates synchronously with the test
component; the light-emitting element and the light-receiving
element are respectively disposed at the opposite sides of the
coding turntable. Accordingly, the coding turntable has one or
plurality of black and white coding channels, therefore, when the
coding turntable rotates synchronously with the mechanical
turntable, the light emitted from the light-emitting element may
generate the "opaque" and "translucent" states due to the coding
channel. The light-receiving element receives the "opaque" and
"translucent" states and generates rotational pulse signals as the
first signal and output the number of rotational pulses to the
signal processing unit, the signal processing unit then counts the
pulse signal to learn the rotation condition of the mechanical
turntable. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention,
the first sensor may generate a first signal comprising phase A
pulse signal, phase B pulse signal, and phase Z pulse signal, so
that the rotation angle and the rotation direction (forward or
reverse rotation) may be obtained.
[0014] In the present invention, the second sensor includes a
plurality of sensing elements disposed at different vertical
positions for multipoint detection, wherein the sensing elements
may be disposed between the first hollow base body and the second
hollow base body for detecting the condition of the float, or may
be disposed at the strip for detecting the hydrological parameters
of the corresponding positions. For example, in one embodiment of
the present invention, a magnetic element having high magnetic
permeability may be disposed on a sidewall of the float to trigger
the sensing elements by magnetic induction so that the sensing
elements may generate the second signal. Accordingly, the float may
move upwardly and vertically along the strip due to buoyancy force
when the water level changes. At the meantime, the sensing element
which is triggered by the float may be determined by the second
signal for confirming the position of the float after moving and
then to obtain the water level. For example, those sensing elements
are disposed symmetrically at least two opposite outer sidewall of
the second hollow base body to form a plurality of sensing parts,
wherein each of the sensing parts includes sensing elements that
arranged in a row along vertical direction to generate the magnetic
induction with the high permeability magnetic sensing elements on
the sidewall of the float. In this case, those sensing elements may
be magnetic switches and each sensing element of the sensing part
may be connected in parallel to two wires. When the float moves to
a position that corresponds to the magnetic switch, the high
permeability magnetic element may induce the magnetic switch to be
closed; thereby the wire is conducted at the corresponding position
and to form a conducting loop. Due to the different resistance
values of the wire conducted at different positions, the position
of the float may be determined by the voltage signal measured at
two ends of the conducting loop. In this case, the second sensing
element generates the second signal preferably by Kelvin
measurement for accurate measurement of the voltage value.
Alternatively, those sensing elements may produce inductance
changes induced by the high permeability magnetic element with the
conductive coils, that is, each of the sensing elements may include
an inductive coil that surrounds the second hollow base body. The
magnetic element of the float will affect the inductive coil and
generate the second signal when the float passes through the
inductive coil. Accordingly, the position of the float may be
determined by the electric or magnetic changes (such as inductance,
electromotive force, magnetic force, or the like) caused by the
float when passes through one of the inductive coils, thereby, the
water level may be obtained. For example, the second sensor may
further include a plurality of inductance solver digital module for
detecting the inductance change of the inductance coil. Similarly,
the vibration of the float caused by the turbulence may result in
the electric or/and magnetic changes, so that the flow velocity of
the river may be obtained according to the electric or/and magnetic
change. In addition, in another embodiment of the present
invention, the sensing elements are disposed at different vertical
levels of the strip for detecting the physical parameters of the
corresponding positions (such as temperature, pressure, flow
velocity, or the like). The water level may be obtained by
determining which sensing element locate on the water surface
according to the different physical parameters in the water or
beyond the water surface, or even to the different temperature,
water pressure, flow velocity or the like of various depths in the
water.
[0015] In the present invention, the signal processing unit may
process and convert the received first signal and second signal for
obtaining the scouring information (such as scour depth) according
to the vertical position of the counterweight component.
Simultaneously, the information of water flow (such as water level,
flow velocity, or the like) may be obtained according to the
vertical movement or/and vibration of the float caused by the water
flow, or to the hydrological parameters of different vertical
positions (such as water lever, flow velocity, or the like).
Herein, the magnetic switch may be utilized as the sensing element
for detecting the float in the present invention; therefore the
signal processing unit may include a decoding module, a first
conversion module, a signal amplification module, a second
conversion module, and an analysis module. Alternatively, the
inductive coil may be utilized as the sensing element for detecting
the float in the present invention; therefore the signal processing
unit may include a decoding module, a first conversion module, a
solver transfer module, a second conversion module, and an analysis
module. The decoding module receives the first signal and then the
first signal is processed into a decoding signal; the first
conversion module receives the decoding signal and the decoding
signal is processed into the scour depth value; the signal
amplification module/solver transfer module receives the second
signal and the second signal is processed into an amplification
signal/solver signal; the second conversion module receives the
amplification signal/solver signal and the amplification
signal/solver signal is processed into at least one of the flow
velocity value and the water level; and the analysis module may
analyze the scour depth value and the water level to propose the
warning signals. In this case, the decoding module may read the
pulse signal outputted by the first sensor and count and decode the
pulse signal through the AB phase decoding circuit. The first
conversion module may convert the decoded signal into the scour
depth via the pulse conversion circuit. The signal amplification
module may filter out noise through the lock-in amplification
technology to obtain an accurate voltage value. The solver transfer
module adopts the time-division multiple access (TDMA) for making
the solver digital module in the second sensor can share the
transmission media and return the data to the solver transfer
module within the specified time to decide which of the inductive
coil produce the inductance value change. The second conversion
module may convert the line resistance into the position or obtain
the water level from the inductance change of one of the inductive
coil. The flow velocity may be obtained due to frequent changes of
the line resistance or the inductance of the inductive coil. The
analysis module reads the data of the scour depth and the water
level for making a comprehensive analysis; then raising the warning
signal based on the following situation: (1) when the scour depth
is larger than a first alert threshold, the analysis module will
raise the warning signal, on the contrary, when the scour depth is
smaller than the first alert threshold, the analysis module will
not raise the warning signal; (2) when the water level is large
than a second alert threshold, the analysis module will raise the
warning signal, on the contrary, when the water level is smaller
than the second alert threshold, the analysis module will not raise
the warning signal; and (3) when the scour depth is smaller than
the first alert threshold and the water level is smaller than the
second alert threshold but a total value of the scour depth and the
water level is larger than a third alert threshold, the analysis
module will raise the warning signal, on the contrary, when the
scour depth is smaller than the first alert threshold, the water
level is smaller than the second alert threshold, and the total
value of the scour depth and the water level is also smaller than
the third alert threshold, the analysis module will not raise the
warning signal, wherein the first alert threshold, the second alert
threshold, and the third alert threshold are a set parameter
respectively.
[0016] In the present invention, the signal processing unit may
transmit the data of the scour depth, water level, flow velocity,
and warning signal to a receiving end through the wireless or wired
transmission. In more detail, the signal processing unit may
further include a communication module for receiving the data of
the scour depth, flow velocity, water level, and warning signal and
transmitting the data of scour depth, flow velocity, water level,
and warning signal to a receiving end. Herein, the communication
module read the data of the scour depth, flow velocity, and water
level in every predetermined time period, and when the warning
signal is raised by the analysis module, the communication module
may remind the management staff by text message, e-mail, voice
message, or the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the composite hydrological
monitoring system of one embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the test component and the
first sensor of one embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a decomposition diagram of the test component of
one embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the second sensor which is
used for detecting the float of one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the signal processing unit of
one embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the analysis process of one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the second sensor of
another embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the sensing element which
is used for detecting the float of another embodiment of the
present invention.
[0025] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the processing unit of another
embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 10 is a connection schematic diagram of the inductance
solver digital module and the solver transfer module of one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of disposing the third
sensing element in the counterweight component of another
embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the composite hydrological
monitoring system of another embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0029] Hereafter, examples will be provided to illustrate the
embodiments of the present invention. Advantages and effects of the
invention will become more apparent from the disclosure of the
present invention. It should be noted that these accompanying
figures are simplified and illustrative. The quantity, shape and
size of components shown in the figures may be modified according
to practical conditions, and the arrangement of components may be
more complex. Other various aspects also may be practiced or
applied in the invention, and various modifications and variations
can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention
based on various concepts and applications.
[0030] Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows the composite
hydrological monitoring system 100 of one embodiment of the present
invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the composite hydrological
monitoring system 100 of the present invention comprises a first
hollow base body 10, a second hollow base body 20, a counterweight
component 31, a strip 40, a test component 50, a first sensor 60, a
float 70, a second sensor 80, and a signal processing unit 90. The
first hollow base body 10 may be a hollow steel column, the
interior thereof includes a first accommodating space 11, wherein a
plurality of first through holes 131 is disposed on a sidewall 13
thereof and interconnects to the first accommodating space 11. The
second hollow base body 20 may be a plastic column which is
disposed in the first accommodating space 11, and the interior
thereof includes a second accommodating space 21, wherein a
plurality of second through holes is disposed on a sidewall 23
thereof and interconnects to the first accommodating space 11 and
the second accommodating space 21. The counterweight component 31
may be a lead hammer which is housed in the second accommodating
space 21 of the second hollow base body 20, wherein the
counterweight component 31 is capable of moving in the vertical
direction D1. The strip 40 may be a 30 meters long steel wire with
opposite two ends connected with the counterweight component 31 and
the test component 50 respectively. When the counterweight
component 31 moves in the vertical direction D1 under gravity, the
test component 50 may be driven by the strip 40 to present the
change in mechanical energy and the first sensor 60 may detect the
change in mechanical energy of the test component 50 to generate a
first signal S1. The float 70 may be styrofoam with a hole 701 at
the center thereof, and the magnet sheet and high permeability
magnetic material are disposed on the sidewall of the float 70 as a
magnetic element 71. The strip 40 passes through the hole 701 of
the float 70 so that the float 70 covers and is movably sleeved to
the strip 40. The float 70 may move toward the vertical direction
D1 along the strip 40 under buoyant force, also, the float 70 may
vibrate under the turbulence flow. The second sensor 80 includes a
plurality of sensing elements 81 which are disposed at a
predetermined interval from one another in the vertical direction
D1 between the first hollow base body 10 and the second hollow base
body 20 and are fixed on the outer sidewall of the second base body
20, wherein the float 70 in the second base body 20 triggers the
sensing element 81 at a corresponding position through the magnetic
element 71 and drive the second sensor 80 to generate a second
signal S2. The signal processing unit 90 receives the first signal
S1 and the second signal S2 and converts the first signal S1 and
the second signal S2 into a scour depth and a water level and a
flow velocity respectively.
[0031] Accordingly, the composite hydrological monitoring system
100 may be used to instantly detect the scour depth and the water
level of the flood. When the flood scours the riverbed G, the
counterweight component 31 sinks at the scouring place and pulls
down the strip 40, the test component 50 is then driven to present
a change in mechanical energy. The change in mechanical energy is
then detected by the first sensor 60 to determine the vertical
position of the counterweight component 31, accordingly, the scour
depth of the riverbed may be obtained. Simultaneously, the float 70
floats on the water surface W, so that the vertical position of the
float 70 changes when the water surface changes and the magnetic
element 71 on the float 70 will trigger the sensing element 81 of
the second sensor 80 at a corresponding position. Accordingly, the
vertical position of the float 70 may be determined and the water
level may be obtained. At the meantime, the flow velocity of the
river may also be obtained according to the level of the irregular
signal change.
[0032] The following description will describe the structure and
function of each component of the composite hydrological monitoring
system 100.
[0033] Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 for further description of
the structure and function of the test component 50 and the first
sensor 60. In the present embodiment, the rotary test component 50
and the first sensor 60 are exemplified. Referring the test
component 50 and the first sensor 60 illustrated in FIG. 2, the
test component 50 and the first sensor 60 shaft connect to each
other, and the strip 40 surrounds the test component 50 with
respect to a central axis C. When the test component 50 rotates
with respect to axis C, the first sensor 60 rotates synchronously
with the test component 50. Specifically, refer to the
decomposition diagram of the test component 50 illustrated in FIG.
3, the test component 50 comprises a shell body 51, a mechanical
turntable 53, a volute spring 55, and a three-jaw introversion
mechanical coupling assembly 57. The interior of the shell body 51
has an axis 511, the mechanical turntable 53 is housed in the shell
body 51 and is sleeved to the axis 511 of the shell body 51. The
volute spring 55 is disposed at an inner wall of the mechanical
turntable 53 and surrounds the axis 511 for forming a rewound
system. The strip 40 surrounds the outer side of the mechanical
turntable 53. One end of the three-jaw introversion mechanical
coupling assembly 57 is connected to the via holes 531 of the
mechanical turntable 53 by its three claws 571; another end of the
three-jaw introversion mechanical coupling assembly 57 is connected
to the first sensor 60 by a joint axle 573 (please refer to FIG.
2). In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 3, each of the claws 571
of the three-jaw introversion mechanical coupling assembly 57 has
inward introverted end 5711, and the ends 5711 of the claws 571 may
vertically insert into the via holes 531 of the mechanical
turntable 53 for disassembling or assembling. Further, as
illustrated in FIG. 2, the sensor 60 used in the present embodiment
is a rotary encoder type of optical encoder. The optical encoder
has a coding turntable 61, a light-emitting element 63, and a
light-receiving element 65, wherein the coding turntable 61
connects with the three-jaw introversion mechanical coupling
assembly 57 of the test component 50, and the light-emitting
element 63 and the light-receiving element 65 are respectively
disposed on the opposite sides of the coding turntable 61. A
plurality of translucent slits 611 is disposed on the coding
turntable 61, and two states of "opaque" and "translucent"
represent the binary code "1" and "0" respectively. A "1" signal is
generated when the light emitted from the light-emitting element 63
penetrates the translucent slits 611 and reaches the
light-receiving element 65; on the contrary, a "0" signal is
generated when the light emitted from the light-emitting element 63
fails to reach the corresponding translucent slits 611 and the
light-receiving element 65 fails to receive the light. Accordingly,
the rotation condition may be known by counting the signal 101010 .
. . generated with respect to the light-receiving element 65.
[0034] In addition, a plurality of coding channels (one lap of
black and white circles is called a coding channel, a simple
example is illustrated as one lap of translucent slit in FIG. 2)
may be disposed on the coding turntable 61 for generating a first
signal comprising phase A pulse signal, phase B pulse signal, and
phase Z pulse signal, wherein the retardation between phase A and
phase B is 90.degree.. The forward or reverse rotation of the
coding turntable 61 may be detected by comparing which of phase A
or phase B comes at first. Phase Z is generated by a third coding
channel (Z), which is one translucent slit, as a zero reference
position.
[0035] Accordingly, when the water scours the riverbed and causes
the sinking of the riverbed, the counterweight component 31 (refer
to FIG. 1) may sink along the riverbed under gravity. The strip 40
is pulled down by the counterweight component 31 and thus causing
the mechanical turntable 53 of the test component 50 to rotate
forwardly (shown by the arrow A). At the meantime, the coding
turntable 61 of the first sensor 60 rotates forwardly and
synchronously. To make sure that the elongated length of the strip
40 equals to the scour depth, the volute spring 55 (refer to FIG.
3) of the test component 50 provides a return elastic force. So
that when the length of the strip 40 pulled down by the
counterweight component 31 is larger than the scour depth, the
mechanical turntable 53 may rotate reversely (shown by the arrow B)
under the elastic force provided by the volute spring 55 and rewind
the strip 40 back to its tight state, and the coding turntable 61
of the first sensor 60 may rotate reversely and synchronously.
Finally, the moving length of the strip 40 may be determined by
counting the phase A, phase B, and phase Z pulse signals.
[0036] Please refer to FIG. 4 for detail description between the
float 70 and the second sensor 81. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the
sensing elements 81 of the second sensor 80 are disposed
symmetrically on the opposite inner sidewall of the first hollow
base body (not shown) and the opposite outer sidewall of the second
hollow base body (not shown) for forming a first sensing part 801
and a second sensing part 803. In this case, the magnetic switch is
used as the sensing element 81 for exemplifying the first
embodiment. Those sensing element 81 of the first sensing part 801
and the second sensing part 803 located at positions Y1, Y2, Y3 . .
. are connected in parallel to two wires 83 and are arranged in a
row along the vertical direction at a predetermined interval of 5
cm from one another. Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 4, when
the float 70 is floating on the water surface that corresponds to
the sensing element 81 at the vertical position Y3, the magnetic
element 71 on the float 70 triggers the sensing element 81 at
position Y so that the two wires 83 of the first sensing part 801
and the second sensing part 803 are connected to each other and
form a conducting loop, and a voltage value of two ends of the
conducting loop may be measured. Due to the different resistance
values of the two wires 83 conducted at different positions, the
voltage value will be different when the float 70 triggers the
sensing element 81 located at different positions, therefore, the
voltage value measured may be used as a basis to obtain the water
level. Herein, Kelvin measurement is preferable for accurate
measurement of the voltage value.
[0037] Next, please refer to the block diagram of the signal
processing unit shown in FIG. 5, wherein the first signal S1 and
the second signal S2 generated by the first sensor 60 and the
second sensor 80 are transmitted to the signal processing unit 90
for analysis. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the signal processing unit
90 of the present embodiment includes a decoding module 91, a first
conversion module 92, a signal amplification module 93, a second
conversion module 95, an analysis module 96, and a communication
module 97.
[0038] When the decoding module 91 receives the first signal S1,
the first signal S1 may be processed into a decoded signal by the
AB phase decoding circuit. Then, the first conversion module 92 may
convert the decoded signal into the scour depth via the pulse
conversion circuit. Additionally, the second signal S2 received by
the signal amplification module 93 is processed into an
amplification signal through the lock-in amplification technology.
Specifically, as described above, the sensing elements 81
illustrated in FIG. 4 are disposed at an interval of 5 cm from one
another; therefore, the resistance change due to the different
position is small and may be easily interference by noise or drift.
Accordingly, the lock-in amplification technology may filter out
the noise to obtain an accurate voltage value. Then, the
amplification signal is converted into the position based on the
line resistance using the second conversion module 95 for obtaining
the value of water level and flow velocity. Next, the analysis
module reads the data of the scour depth and the water level for
making a comprehensive analysis and for raising a warning signal.
The analysis module 96 transmits the warning signal and the data of
the scour depth, the water level, and the flow velocity to the
communication module 97, the communication module 97 reads those
data described above in every predetermined time and transmits
those data and warning signal to the receiving end U. Accordingly,
the receiving end U may display an X-axis and a Y-axis represent
the scour depth and water level or flow velocity respectively. When
the analysis module 96 raises the warning signal, the communication
module 97 may remind the management staff by text message, e-mail,
voice message, or the like.
[0039] The following description further describes the process of
making the comprehensive analysis of the scour depth value X and
the water level value Y with the analysis module 96. Please refer
to FIG. 6, firstly, the analysis module 96 determines whether the
scour depth value X is larger than the first alert threshold hh
(step S1); when the scour depth value X is larger than the first
alert threshold hh, the analysis module will raise the warning
signal to the communication module 97 (step S2); when the scour
depth value X is smaller than the first alert threshold hh, the
analysis module 96 will determine whether the water level value Y
is larger than the second alert threshold yy (step 3); when the
water level value Y is larger than the second threshold yy, the
analysis module 96 will raise the warning signal to the
communication module 97 (step 4); when the water level value Y is
smaller than the second threshold yy, the analysis module 96 will
determined whether the sum X+Y of the scour depth value X and the
water level value Y is larger than the third alert threshold zz
(step 5); when the sum X+Y is larger than the third alert threshold
zz, the analysis module 96 will raise the warning signal to the
communication module 97 (step 6); and when the sum X+Y is smaller
than the third alert threshold zz, the analysis module 96 will not
raise the warning signal (step 7). The first alert threshold, the
second alert threshold, and the third alert threshold (hh, yy, zz)
may be setting parameters.
[0040] In addition, another embodiment of the second sensor 80 is
illustrated in FIG. 7. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the induced coil
surrounds the positions Y1, Y2, Y3 . . . of the outer sidewall of
the second hollow base body 20 as the sensing elements 81. When the
float 70 passes vertically through the corresponding inductive coil
along with the water surface, the magnetic element 71 having high
magnetic permeability on the float 70 will affect the inductive
coil and cause the electric or magnetic changes (such as
inductance, electromotive force, magnetic force, or the like).
Accordingly, the location of the float 70 may be determined by
detecting the electric or magnetic changes of the inductive coil
(such as inductance, electromotive force, magnetic force, or the
like) when the float 70 passes through the inductive coil.
Similarly, the vibration of the float 70 caused by the turbulence
may result in electric or/and magnetic changes so that the flow
velocity of the river may be obtained according to the electric
or/and magnetic change. In addition, the second embodiment of the
present invention is exemplified by detecting the inductance value
change. Please refer to FIG. 8, each of the sensing elements 81
(the inductive coil) are equipped with an inductance solver digital
module 85 for detection. As illustrated in FIG. 8, two ends of each
of the sensing elements 81 (the inductive coil) are electrically
connected to the inductance solver digital module 85. Therefore,
the magnetic element 71 having high magnetic permeability of the
float 70 will affect the inductive coil and generate a magnetic
change when the float 70 passes through the inductive coil. The
inductance value may be calculated by the inductance solver digital
module 85, and the second signal S2 including the position of the
inductive coil and the inductance value is transmitted.
[0041] Next, please refer to the block diagram of the signal
processing unit of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 9. As
illustrated in FIG. 9, the signal processing unit 90 includes a
decoding module 91, a first conversion module 92, a solver transfer
module 94, a second conversion module 95, an analysis module 96,
and a communication module 97. In this case, the processing steps
for the first signal S1 is similar to those described in the first
embodiment, therefore, the same description need not be repeated.
The processing steps for the second signal S2 will be described in
detail in the following description. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the
solver transfer module 94 receives the second signal S2 and the
second signal S2 is processed into a solver signal. The solver
signal is then converted into the flow velocity value and the water
level value by the second conversion module 95, afterward, the
comprehensive analysis described in the first embodiment is made by
the analysis module 96.
[0042] Please refer to FIG. 10, which illustrates the connection
between the inductance solver digital module 85 and the solver
transfer module 94. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the inductance
change at the positions Y1, Y2, Y3, . . . in the vertical direction
are detected by the plurality of inductance solver digital modules
85, wherein those inductance solver transfer module 85 are
connected in serious with waterproof connectors 87 and then
connected to the solver transfer module 94. Accordingly, those
inductance solver digital modules 85 may share the transmission
media, and return the data to solver transfer module 94 within the
specified time through TDMA. The second signal S2 transmitted from
the inductance solver digital module 85 includes the location ID
and the inductance measured thereof, therefore, the solver transfer
module 94 may determine which inductive coil generates the
inductance change and the change value thereof according to the
second signal S2. Further, the value of the water level and the
flow velocity may be obtained by the second conversion module 95,
similarly, the flow velocity may be based on the change condition
of the detected inductance value.
[0043] In addition, please refer to FIG. 11, a third sensor 33 may
further be disposed in the counterweight component 31, wherein the
third sensor 33 may generate signal changes based on the movements
of the counterweight component 31. The signal processing unit 90
may receive the third signal S3 generated by the third sensor 33,
and convert the third signal S3 into reference values which relate
to at least one of the scour depth, the water level, and the flow
velocity. The reference values converted from the third signal S3
are compared with the scour depth value converted from the first
signal S1 or/and the scour depth value converted from the second
signal S2 to ensure the data accuracy. In this case, the third
sensor 33 may be any device that is able to distinguish the
movement and the moving condition of the counterweight component
31, for example, the third sensor 33 may be an accelerometer, an
image sensor, a thermometer, or a gyroscope.
[0044] Next, please refer to FIG. 12 illustrating a composite
hydrological monitoring system 200 of another embodiment of the
present invention. The composite hydrological detecting system 200
comprises a first hollow base body 10, a counterweight component
31, a strip 40, a test component 50, a first sensor 60, a second
sensor 80, and a signal processing unit 90. As illustrated in FIG.
12, the configurations and the mechanisms of the first hollow base
body 10, the counterweight component 31, the test component 50, and
the first sensor 60 of the composite hydrological monitoring system
200 are similar to those illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, except
that the float is absence in the hydrological monitoring system 200
and the second sensor 80 disposed on the strip 40 is applied
directly to detect the water level, the flow velocity, and the
like. Specifically, the second sensor 80 comprises a plurality of
sensing elements 81, which are disposed at a predetermined interval
in the vertical direction on the positions Y1, Y2, Y3, . . . of the
strip 40. The physical parameters (such as temperature, pressure,
flow velocity, or the like) may be detected by the sensing elements
81 disposed at different vertical positions of the strip 40 because
of the environmental conditions divers at different vertical
positions of the strip 40. Accordingly, when the signal processing
unit 90 receives the second signal S2 generated by the second
sensor 80, the sensing element 81, which is located on the water
surface W, can be determined based on the detected reference values
so that the water level may be determined. For example, a
thermometer or a pressure gauge may be used as the sensing elements
81 for detecting the temperature or the pressure at different
vertical positions, and the water level may be determined based on
the temperature of the pressure detected at those vertical
positions. In addition, due to the different flow velocity at
different depths under water, the flow velocities detected at
different vertical positions of the strip 40 will be different,
therefore, the flow velocities of different vertical positions may
be detected by the sensing elements 81 and even the water level may
be determined by the flow velocity distribution. Similarly, the
composite hydrological monitoring system 200 may further comprise a
third sensor 33 illustrated in FIG. 11. The third sensor 33
provides at least one reference value of the scour depth, flow
velocity, and water level for comparing the scour depth value
obtained from the first signal S1 or/and the water level/flow
velocity value obtained from the second signal S2 once again.
[0045] In summary, the composite hydrological monitoring system of
the present invention may detect the scour depth and water
lever/flow velocity with the counterweight component and the float,
and is advantageous of simple structure, low cost, high
reliability, and high stability. Also, the composite hydrological
monitoring system can exhibit high survivability hour and ensure
flood safety during severe floods.
[0046] Although the present invention has been explained in
relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that
many other possible modifications and variations can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as
hereinafter claimed.
* * * * *